Next: Wizard-of-Oz Recordings
Up: Recording Techniques
Previous: Recording Software
Contents
Field Recordings
Most of the things said in the previous section are also true for
recordings in the field. Here are some additional practical hints:
- Most of your devices will be battery-powered. Be sure that your
recording team always keeps fresh batteries ready. Test the devices
before each recording (check list).
- In larger installations you might have AC power available. Power lines
outdoors very often have bad grounding that may cause 50/60Hz
hum on your signals. Do not perform the pretest in the lab; do it in the
woods.
- Even worse are emergency power supplies; they might produce all
kinds of noise in your signals. Look very carefully (spectrum) at your
signals after the pre-test. Use AF filters in the power cords to your
recording devices.
- Switch off all cellular phones within a perimeter of at least 20m around your
recording site. They produce audible interferences with sound devices
at irregular intervals.
- If you plan recordings in the running vehicle, you may have all
sorts of problems getting a computer running reliably. Standard PCs
cannot be powered by DC 12V; you will need an
industrial version of the Intel PC.
Alternatively you may use a laptop for prompting only5.8 and do the recording with a
digital recording device independently.
- Be prepared to cope with nasty weather conditions; some microphones
react allergically to humidity.
- Plan to backup recorded data immediately after each recording. Use
built-in CD-R drives or a second DAT recorder to copy your signals. Store
the recording media in a dry and cool place.
- Plan plenty of time for the setup and testing. Then double the time
in your schedule. It's better to have an extra coffee break than to ruin
recordings.
Next: Wizard-of-Oz Recordings
Up: Recording Techniques
Previous: Recording Software
Contents
BITS Projekt-Account
2004-06-01